To learn about Ancient Roman daily life, click on either the "Food" or "Education" buttons below. To learn about social structure, continue reading below on this page. Also, click on "What Was Daily Life Like For Teenagers In Ancient Rome?" to watch a video about an Ancient Roman's past.
This picture shows a typical day in Ancient Rome. The Ancient Romans often interacted with each other throughout the day.
The Roman Republicwas basically made up of two groups: the plebeiansand the patricians. The plebeians were the lower class, and this class consisted of peasants, laborers, craftspeople, and shopkeepers. The population was about 95% plebeians, and these people didn’t have many rights. The second class was the patricians. This class was a very small part of the population, and the people who made up the patricians were wealthy landowners. While the plebeians had very little rights, the patricians had much more freedom. The Republic had a Senate, as well as two consuls. The Senate was a group of 300 men elected to govern Rome, and the consuls were two chief leaders. The two classes continued into the Roman Empire, but instead of having a Senate and two Consuls, there was one emperor ruling over Rome. The poor had very little freedom, so little that they weren’t even allowed to be involved in the government. The patricians held all of the power, and they were the only ones allowed to make laws and decisions. Because poor people made up the majority of the population, they lived in filthy neighborhoods that were filled with crime and all kinds of diseases. The three main types of crime were theft, assault, and murder. In order to avoid the crime, rich Roman men wore old, dirty togas when they traveled at night to hide their wealth. Women and children that were part of rich families were told to never go outdoors alone, even during the day. Some dangerous streets were closed at night. Police watched over richer neighborhoods, but they almost never patrolled the poorer sections. In fact, many children that were part of poor families did not live past ten years old. The rich Romans spent tons of money on objects, and they decorated their homes with many ornaments. Wealthy Roman women ran their households by purchasing and training slaves. They also bought and sold property. Many of these women were active in business because they wanted money of their own.